In an interview with writer Megan O'Neill for The Social Times she asked Krivika where the idea for the Nude Gaming Party video came from? "The product we are promoting is a gaming accessory. That means our target audience are gamers. Gamers are open to fun and crazy things so we wanted to create something edgy and spicy that would get them talking about this product," he explained.

The "Nude Gaming Event" video that gained wild popularity on the Interwebs turned out to be a marketing ploy by PR company -- called Thinkmodo -- that does original and unusual promotions.

The company that they created this campaign for was Xtend Play, a computer game peripheral maker. Thinkmodo staged the event and video to gain publicity for the product, while ironically genuine Naturist Groups saw the video and decided to give the activity a try, finding it to be a very successful means for attracting a younger membership to to the aging population of adherents to the clothing-optional lifestyle.

When we asked Bob about the hoax factor he was upfront about the matter -- "We did not learn that the video and the coverage online was a hoax until quite recently. We already had held our first two nude gaming events, and they were a success; so hoax or not, we have found something that works for us, and that we are going to stick with because you cannot argue with the results.

"As a group we wanted to expand the age range and get younger people interested in our activities and our lifestyle, and we have done that. It adds so much to the group, I cannot even begin to tell you. With younger members who are enthusiastic about the lifestyle we are now planning events we would probably not have done before -- trips to Fire Island and Gay Head on Marthas Vineyard, participating in the Clean the Beach Campaign on Cape Cod, and a group trip is being planned for this coming Winter to go to Florida, for gaming and a trip to Disney World.

"We owe them (Thinkmodo) heartfelt thanks because their hoax probably saved our club in the long run," Bob admits.

Since the release of the Thinkmodo video, legitimate nude gaming parties have been held by naturist groups in California, Connecticut, Colorado, Texas, Florida, Oregon, Washington State in the USA, and in Australia, the UK, France, and Germany, though it should be noted that it turns out that the idea for nude gaming parties was not as original or unique as the creators of the video may have thought.

In the process of researching this piece we learned that nude video game events are a regular activity in France and Germany, and there are nude gaming student clubs at several universities in Germany as well.

Gamers interested in exploring the world of nude gaming -- and naturism -- will need to add some additional items to their regular LAN party kit, starting with some beach and bath towels (when attending a nudist or naturist event one is expected to have their personal towel with them at all times, and to place it over any surface that they will be sitting on as a hygienic courtesy), as well as items of kit that they will need to leave at home, such as regular and digital cameras, video cameras and the like.

Naturists are a group within the world society who have fully embraced the philosophical concept of Joie de vivre -- the act of exuberant enjoyment of life -- and while the population of naturist -- and nudist -- video gamers appear to have largely participated in their hobby of nude gaming in private, since the launch of the nude gaming PR campaign by Thinkmodo the trend is reversing, with more nude gamers seeking organized events at which to play.

Within the world of online blogging the nude gamer population is begining to reveal itself (no pun intended) on their blogs and organized blog publications like NudeState, in which the gamer in the photo above promotes the freedom, comfort, and joy of the naturist lifestyle, identifying themselves as a Naturist Gamer.

When attending a nude gaming party organizers require attendees to cover the built-in web camera on their notebooks with an obvious courtesy cover -- at the event we attended they provided "ouch-less band-aids" (a form of sticky-plaster whose adhesive will not damage the camera or notebook screen).

Attendees go by first name only, and it is considered bad form to ask for last names, which by their rules may only be offered and not requested. No alcohol is permitted unless the event invitation specifically says that it is, and when it is, it is always BYOB -- and it is generally frowned upon to share your B or offer B to others.

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